It is known to provide an electrical connector assembly releasably connecting a connector to a printed circuit board. The assembly includes a first and second connector where the first connector has terminal means extending through terminal receiving holes in the circuit board and the connectors sandwiching the board therebetween. The connectors are held together by means of locating posts projecting from one of the connectors, and either creating an interference fit in a circuit board aperture or passing through the circuit board aperture and creating an interference fit in locating holes in the other connector. Typically, the other connector has a plurality of boardlocks projecting into holes in the printed circuit board.
More particularly, prior art connector assemblies of the character described above usually include elongated housings having terminal means mounted therein. The locating posts and the locating holes are disposed at opposite ends of the housings. The boardlocks then are disposed longitudinally outside the locating posts and holes. Providing all of these locating and mounting components at the opposite ends of the connector, longitudinally beyond the terminal means in the connector housing, greatly increases the lengths of the connectors. This causes problems in requiring excessively large and expensive connector housings. The unduly large connectors also take up valuable space or "real estate" on the printed circuit board. The present invention is directed to solving these problems by providing an improved arrangement of locating means and boardlock means on the pair of interengageable electrical connectors.